I remember back in 2.0.x years ago it was possible to open multiple collections (profiles) concurrently. I used that workflow for quite some time. I’d like to know if there is a possibility to have this for the current version.
I have two different installations 2.1.49 and the current version that I use daily. I also use custom folders to have different addon sets. Even though, when trying to open a second profile (with the other exe and different directory) it just focuses on the window for Anki that is already opened.
My motivation for not switching profiles back and forth is due technical limitations. Both profiles are big collections (100K+ mature cards) and closing down the collection each time, when creating a new backup etc takes a lot of time. Not so for reviewing, but for editing cards it becomes a hell switching; I spend more time waiting that actually editing. Adding images from AI, chatgpt, etc.
Perhaps look into startup-options part of the manual (sorry, this is a new account and I can’t post links yet: h_ttps://docs.ankiweb.net/files.html#startup-options)?
If you have multiple profiles, you can pass -p to load a specific profile.
I was hoping that the following would work (because it has worked for other programs), but it seems like it has failed. So, create two different shortcuts, each is a shortcut to a separate Anki installation:
Perhaps try using the -b option? (though, from one of your old videos, I think you were using that already)
It steems that you tried this already.
That’s odd, because I use this trick with Vim, and it works fine. Further, usually, clicking on a taskbar icon (e.g., Vim or SuperMemo) whilst holding the Shift key, allows you to launch a new instance of that same app. This does not work on Anki.
Yes, that is possible. Check h-ttp://ankisrs.net/docs/manual.html#running-from-a-flash-drive - you can set up Anki to run in portable mode. Running two Ankis side by side is as simple as having two copies of your database and running two portable Ankis (or one installed and one portable).
Since the databases must be separate, you should sync them both over Ankiweb.
Thank you. I didn’t thought of portable version. I hope that doesn’t lower the performace, which is already suffering bacause of the collection size. I actually use different databases and I don’t sync any profile due Ankiweb restriction in sizes.
Edit: Sadly this solution with the bat files do not work with two different SDDs. I actually use custom folders and starting options. The difference is that what is inside the bat file is in “target” and “start in” attributes of the shortcut. Using a flash drive is not an option for me.
Anki is scoped based on Windows username, so you could either create a separate Windows account to run the other instance (and use fast user switching to switch back and forth), or use some sort of sandboxing tool that gives the running app a different username.
I tried Sandboxie. I seems rather complex and I am not sure about the storage. Surprisingly, I asked ChatGPT related questions as I got some issues and turns out there is a much simpler solution and no apps are needed! I just created a windows user for the shake of Anki.
Caveat: It seems I cannot user starting configuration, so for one profile I have to use the default path.
In case someone gets here from search: In Windows you can run apps as other users. In the powershell type the following:
runas /user:username "path to exe"
example: runas /user:guillem "C:\Program Files\Anki21\anki.exe"
Then input the login password for that user
Finally two intances of Anki running at the same time:
Indeed ! I was using sever strings and I was getting errors. It is as simple as one single string. I also use the -p so I bypass the profile selector screen.
